Chicken Fried Rice

Man oh man, I love me some fried rice.  It is crunchy and delicious and just the right mixture of salty and starchy and protein-y.  Sometimes, though, at Chinese food restaurants in the lower price ranges (okay, okay, cheap Chinese), the fried rice can seem splashy in all the wrong ways.  Limited veggies, too much oil and pretty unidentifiable meat.  So, I resolved to take care of my fried rice cravings at home, and this is what I came up with.  It's got limited oil, and you can add whatever you want to it.  This iteration just has a bunch of edamame on the side (since I had neglected to buy veggies for it), but you can easily just throw in some steamed or blanched veggies.  My favorites are carrots and peas, though some sweet corn would probably also be nice.

The most important thing about fried rice is...you guessed it, the rice.  Make sure to make it a day ahead.  It will make your whole life easier and your whole dish tastier.  After you fry up the rice, the rest of the dish comes together in a snap.

Ingredients:
 - 3 c. cooked (and aged) brown rice
 - 2 medium chicken breasts
 - 3 tbsp. neutral oil
 - 1 tbsp. soy sauce
 - 1 bunch of green onions, sliced thinly
 - 1 tsp. (or more!) of Sriracha or other chili-garlic sauce
 - 2-3 eggs, scrambled
 - 1 1/2 c. steamed or blanched mixed veggies

Directions:
 - Steam or poach the chicken breasts until done.  Reserve cooking water.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Shred the chicken and set aside.
 - Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large frying pan.  Add rice and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.  We want the rice to really get crunchy.  If at any time during this step or the ones that follow, the rice seems dry or it is sticking to the pan, douse it with a bit of the chicken cooking water.
 - When rice is all crunched up, make a well in the center of the rice so that the bottom of the frying pan is exposed, and add the remaining oil to the bottom.  Stir fry green onions for about 1 minute in the center of the frying pan.  Add chicken and veggies and allow to heat through.  Stir together to combine.
 - Make a well again in the center of the rice mixture.  Add scrambled eggs and stir to combine.  Allow the eggs to cook through, 1-2 minutes.
 - Add soy sauce and Sriracha and stir to combine.
 - Serve and Enjoy!